The present invention relates to adjustment mechanisms, in particular for vehicle seats.
More particularly, the invention relates to an adjustment mechanism comprising:
a fixed support;
an inlet member mounted to pivot relative to the support about a pivot axis, said inlet member being urged resiliently towards a rest position and being movable in a first angular direction from the rest position over a first angular sector, and in a second angular direction opposite to the first direction, from the rest position and over a second angular sector;
a transmission member mounted to turn about the pivot axis; and
a drive stage comprising:
a bearing surface secured to the transmission member, which bearing surface is in the form of a surface of revolution centered on the pivot axis and co-operates with the inlet member to define a hollow intermediate annular space, the inlet member having a plurality, n, of projections, where n is not less than 2, said projections projecting into said intermediate annular space and each defining first and second wedge-shaped zones in said intermediate annular space, said first and second wedge-shaped zones diverging respectively in the first and second angular directions;
n compression springs disposed in the intermediate annular space between the projections of the inlet member;
n pairs of wedging bodies corresponding respectively to the various projections of the inlet member and each comprising first and second rigid wedging bodies which are disposed in the intermediate annular space and which are urged towards the corresponding projections by two of said compression springs each bearing against the first wedging body of a pair of wedging bodies and against the second wedging body of an adjacent pair of wedging bodies, the first and second wedging bodies of the first pair thus being urged towards the first and second wedge-shaped zones defined by the first projection to tend to become wedged between said first projection and the bearing surface of the transmission member; and
n fixed fingers comprising at least first and second fingers, which are secured to the support and which are disposed in said intermediate annular space, the projections of the inlet member being disposed respectively in register with the fixed fingers when said inlet member is in its rest position, the fixed fingers comprising a first finger presenting width in a circumferential direction about the pivot axis sufficient for the two wedging bodies of the corresponding pair of wedging bodies to come into abutment against said first finger when the inlet member is in its rest position, such that the inlet member is urged towards its rest position by the first and second springs of the wedging bodies.
Document EP-A-0 631 901 descries various examples of such adjustment mechanisms.
Mechanisms of this type make it possible to perform continuous adjustments on an element driven by an outlet member connected to the above-mentioned drive member, by performing one or more reciprocating xe2x80x9cpumpingxe2x80x9d movements:
either over the first angular sector from the rest position of the inlet member in order to move the element driven by the outlet member in a certain direction;
or else over the second angular sector to move the element driven by the outlet member in the opposite direction.
By way of example, such mechanisms can be used in particular for adjusting the height of the seat proper of a vehicle seat.
In the above-mentioned document, the inlet member is urged towards its rest position by the springs of the drive stage. Nevertheless, in the rest position of the inlet member, all of the wedging bodies are theoretically in contact with the fixed fingers in the immediate vicinity of the projections on the inlet member, but given manufacturing tolerances:
either the wedging bodies come into contact with the projections of the inlet member and not with the fixed fingers when the inlet member is in the rest position, in which case there exists uncertainty concerning the exact rest position of the inlet member;
or else the wedging bodies come into contact with the fixed fingers and not with the projections when the inlet member is in the rest position, thereby giving it additional angular lost motion from its rest position before beginning to move the drive member.
A particular object of the present invention is to mitigate those drawbacks.
To this end, in the invention, an adjustment mechanism of the kind in question is characterized in that the first finger and the corresponding projection are so shaped that the corresponding wedging bodies come into abutment against said first finger, thereby preventing them from wedging between the corresponding projection and the bearing surface of the transmission member while the inlet member is in its rest position; and
in that the second finger and the corresponding projection are so shaped that said second finger does not interfere with the corresponding wedging bodies while the inlet member is in the rest position, these wedging bodies then wedging between the corresponding projection and the bearing surface of the transmission member.
By means of these dispositions, the first finger guarantees that the inlet member always returns into exactly the same rest position, while the additional fixed finger(s) guarantees that at least two of the wedging bodies are already wedged against the corresponding projections of the inlet member as soon as said inlet member is in its rest position but that when the inlet member is actuated, movement of the inlet member causes the drive member to begin moving immediately, substantially without any lost motion or with lost motion that is very small.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, use may optionally be made of one or more of the following dispositions:
the second finger presents width less than the width of the first finger, with the projections all being identical;
n is equal to 3, and the fixed fingers include a third finger which presents width small enough to ensure that said third finger does not interfere with the corresponding wedging bodies while the inlet member is in the rest position, these wedging bodies then wedging between the corresponding projection and the bearing surface of the transmission member;
the mechanism further comprises:
a locking surface secured to the support and in the form of a surface of revolution centered on the pivot axis;
an outlet member mounted to turn about the pivot axis and shaped to co-operate with the locking surface to define at least one pair of wedge-shaped spaces comprising first and second wedge-shaped spaces, these first and second wedge-shaped spaces diverging respectively in the first and second angular directions; and
a locking stage connecting the transmission member to the outlet member, said locking stage comprising:
at least one pair of clamping bodies comprising first and second rigid clamping bodies which are disposed respectively in the first and second wedge-shaped spaces and which are urged resiliently respectively in the first and second angular directions to wedge between the outlet member and the locking surface;
at least first and second rigid abutment faces secured to the transmission member and oriented respectively in the first and second angular directions, the first abutment face being adapted to come into abutment against the first clamping body to release it when the transmission member turns in the first angular direction, and the second abutment face being adapted to come into abutment against the second clamping body to release it when the transmission member turns in the second angular direction, the first and second abutment faces presenting a certain amount of angular clearance relative to the first and second clamping bodies; and
at least first and second thrust faces secured to the outlet member, the first thrust face being adapted to limit movement of the transmission member relative to the outlet member in the first angular direction after said first abutment face has moved the first clamping body far enough to release it, thus enabling said outlet member to be driven by the transmission member, and the second thrust face being adapted to limit movement of the transmission member relative to the outlet member in the second angular direction after said second abutment face has moved the second clamping body far enough to release it, so as to cause said outlet member to be driven by the transmission member;
the first and second clamping bodies of each pair of clamping bodies are urged mutually apart by a compression spring and are placed between a pair of axial fingers comprising first and second axial fingers secured to the transmission member, said first and second axial fingers respectively including the first and second abutment faces, the first thrust face of the outlet member being adapted to come into abutment against the second axial finger of the transmission member when said transmission member moves in the first angular direction, and the second thrust face of the outlet member being adapted to come into abutment against the first axial finger of the transmission member when said transmission member moves in the second angular direction; and
the transmission member is braked relative to the outlet member by sufficient braking torque to keep the transmission member stationary during each return movement of the inlet member towards its rest position after the locking stage has locked, the resilient urging applied to the clamping bodies being sufficient to overcome said braking torque while the locking stage is being locked.